Ismail ( ar, إسماعيل or , ) is an Arabic given name. It corresponds to the English name

Ishmael Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

Etymology and meaning

The literal translation of the name ''Ismail'' is "heard by God" and according to Abrahamic tradition, it refers to the yearning of Abraham and his wife,

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

, to have a child. Ismail's mother, however, was not Sarah, but

Hagar Hagar, of uncertain origin; ar, هَاجَر, Hājar; grc, Ἁγάρ, Hagár; la, Agar is a biblical woman. According to the Book of Genesis, she was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to he ...

, Sarah's maidservant, who Sarah gave to Abraham as a concubine because she was unable to have a child. Sarah later does give birth to a son,

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

. According to

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

, the name is given by God as He heard the cries of Hagar who had been mistreated by Sarah after becoming pregnant and run away. According to Islamic tradition, Ismail's mother,

was also a full wife of the Prophet Abraham.

Given name

* Ismail, son of

Ibrahim Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people ...

* Isma'il ibn Musa al-Hadi was an Abbasid prince, son of caliph

Al-Hadi Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī ( ar, أبو محمد موسى بن المهدي الهادي; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab Al-Hādī (الهادي‎) was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succee ...

(r. 785–786). * Isma'il ibn Jaʽfar al-Mutawakkil, was an Abbasid prince, son of caliph

Al-Mutawakkil Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh ( ar, جعفر بن محمد المعتصم بالله; March 822 – 11 December 861), better known by his regnal name Al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (, "He who relies on God") was t ...

(r. 847—861). * Saint Ismael Orthodox Christian Saint *

Ignatius Ismail Ignatius Ismail was the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Mardin from 1333 until his death in 1365 or 1366. Biography Ismail al-Majd was the son of the deacon John of Mardin and nephew of Ignatius bar Wahib, patriarch of Mardin, and had studied chur ...

(), Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Mardin * Ismail I (1487–1524), the founder of the Safavid dynasty * Ismail Abdul Rahman, Malaysian politician; former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia *

Ismail Abu Shanab Ismail Abu Shanab (195021 August 2003) was one of the founders of Hamas, and one of its three most senior leaders in Gaza. More specifically, he was the second highest leader of Hamas only after Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. He was also the political lea ...

(1950–2003), Hamas politician *

İsmail Acar İsmail Acar (born 1971) is a leading Turkish painter. He graduated with honors in 1991 from the Finer Arts School of Marmara University . In 1993, Acar received his Master of Arts degree in "Technology and Art", as well as in "Postmodernism P ...

(born 1971), Turkish painter *

Ismail Akbay Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

(1930–2003), Turkish scientist *

Ismail Amat Ismail Amat ( ug, ئىسمائىل ئەھمەد, translit=Isma'il Ehmet; zh , s = 司马义·艾买提 , p = Sīmǎyì Àimǎití ; September 1935 – 16 October 2018) was a Chinese politician of Uyghur ethnicity who served as Chairman (Governor ...

(1935–2018), Chinese politician *

Ismail al-Armouti Ismail Nazzal al-Armouti (died 23 January 2013) was a Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, w ...

(died 2013), Jordanian politician *

Esmail Babolian Esmail Babolian is an Iranian numerical analyst, best known as the pioneer professor of numerical analysis Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic computation, symbolic manipulation ...

, Iranian numerical analyst *

Ismail Balkhi Sayed Isma'el Balkhi ( prs, سید اسماعیل بلخی) was one of the most prominent Hazara reformist leaders in 20th-century Afghanistan. An innovative poet and well-known mystic, charismatic political leader and untiring reformist; B ...

(1918–1968), Afghan politician * Ismail bin Mail, Malaysian inventor of 2 for 1 ringgit * Isma'il Beg, Uyghur rebel leader *

İsmail Beşikçi İsmail Beşikçi (born 1939 in İskilip, Turkey) is a Turkish sociologist, philosopher, revolutionary, and writer. He is a PEN Honorary Member. He has served 17 years in prison on propaganda charges stemming from his writings about the Kurdish popu ...

, Turkish scholar *

Esmail Davarfar Esmail Davarfar ( fa, اسماعیل داورفر; March 1933 – 4 May 2008) was an Iranian actor. He graduated from the faculty of Dramatic Arts at Tehran University The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه ت� ...

, Iranian actor *

İsmail Enver İsmail Enver, better known as Enver Pasha ( ota, اسماعیل انور پاشا; tr, İsmail Enver Paşa; 22 November 1881 – 4 August 1922) was an Ottoman military officer, revolutionary, and convicted war criminal who formed one-third ...

, Turkish military officer *

Ismail Ebrahim Ismail "Baboo" Ebrahim (5 November 1946 – 18 July 2020) was a South African cricketer. A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, Ebrahim played 48 first-class matches and two List A matches, mostly for Natal, between 1971 and 1984. He played ...

(1946–2020), South African cricketer *

Ismail Fahmi Ismail Fahmy ( arz, اسماعيل فهمى) (2 October 1922 – 21 November 1997) was an Egyptian diplomat and politician. He served as ambassador to Austria (1968–1971), tourism minister (1973), foreign minister (1973–1977) and deputy prim ...

, Egyptian diplomat *

İsmail Güldüren İsmail Güldüren (born January 1, 1979 in İnegöl, Bursa Province) is a Turkish football manager and former player who was most recently manager of İnegölspor. Career Güldüren currently plays for Giresunspor as a secondary captain next t ...

, Turkish footballer * Ismail Al Hammadi, Emirati footballer * Ismail Haniyeh, Palestinian politician *

Ismail Hoxha Ismail Hoxha is a member of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania for the Democratic Party of Albania The Democratic Party of Albania ( sq, Partia Demokratike e Shqipërisë, PD or PDSH) is a conservatism in Albania, conservative list of p ...

, Albanian politician Professor Ph.D University " La Sapienza" Rome *

Isma'il ibn Jafar Abū Muḥammad Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar al-Mubārak ( ar, إسماعيل بن جعفر; c.719 AD – c.762 AD) was the eldest son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. He is also known as Isma'il al-Ãraj ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq (اسماعيل الاعرج ...

, Imam of Ismaili Shia's * Ismail Kadare (born 1936), Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, and playwright *

İsmail Kartal İsmail Kartal (born 15 June 1961), is a Turkish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. Playing career Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Kartal played eleven seasons in the Turkish Süper Lig. ...

, Turkish footballer *

İsmail Keleş İsmail Keleş (born 5 March 1988 in Ankara) is a Turkish sport shooter competing in the pistol events. By profession a non-commissioned officer at the Turkish Gendarmerie, the tall athlete at , is a member of Jandarma Gücü Sports Club, wher ...

(born 1988), Turkish sport shooter *

İsmail Köybaşı İsmail Köybaşı (born 10 July 1989) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a left back for Turkish Süper Lig club Trabzonspor. Early life and club career Born to a family from İskenderun, Köybaşı had begun to play football f ...

, Turkish footballer *

Esmail Koushan Esmail Koushan ''or Kooshan'' ( fa, اسماعیل کوشان) (1917–1981) was an Iranian film director who was one of the pioneering figures of Persian cinema. He has been called "the father of the Iranian film industry" by Georges Sadoul. Koush ...

, Iranian film director * Ismail Marzuki, Indonesian composer, songwriter, and musician *

Esmail Merat Esmail Merat ( fa, اسماعیل مرآت; 7 March 1893 – 18 December 1949) was Iran's minister of education during Reza Shah reign. He is founder of some faculties of university of Tehran, including law faculty and technical faculty. He has a ...

, Iranian politician *

İsmail Ogan İsmail Ogan (5 March 1933 – 26 April 2022) was a Turkish freestyle wrestler and coach. He competed at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a silver and a gold medal, respectively. He also collected three medals at the world championships between ...

, Turkish sport wrestler *

İsmail Özdağlar İsmail Özdağlar (born September 17, 1950) is a Turkish politician and former government minister. He was convicted of misuse of ministerial powers. Early life İsmail Özdağlar was born to Ali Özdağlar and his wife Akile in Demirci town of ...

(born 1950), Turkish politician and former government minister *

Isma'il Pasha Isma'il Pasha ( ar, إسماعيل باشا ; 12 January 1830 – 2 March 1895), was the Khedive of Egypt and conqueror of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain. Sharing the ambitious outlook of his gran ...

(1830–1895), Wali and khedive of Egypt *

Ismail Patel Ismail Patel (born 1962) is a British optician, and founder of Friends of Al-Aqsa, an NGO based in Leicester. He is an advisory board member of the Conflicts Forum, director of IslamExpo, and a member of the Special Advisory Board of Clear Cons ...

, British optician *

Ismail Samani Abū Ibrāhīm Ismā'īl ibn-i Aḥmad-i Sāmāni ( fa, ابو ابراهیم اسماعیل بن احمد سامانی; May 849 – 24 November 907), better known simply as Ismail-i Samani (), and also known as Isma'il ibn-i Ahmad (), was the S ...

, Amir of the Samanids * Ismail Ibn Sharif, Moroccan sultan *

Esmail Shooshtari Mohammad Esmail Shooshtari (born 1949 in Quchan, Razavi Khorasan province) is a former Iranian politician, and was the Minister of Justice of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1989 to 2005. He is a former member of the Islamic Consultative Assem ...

, Iranian politician *

Ismail Siddiq Ismail Siddiq, also known as Ismail Siddiq Pasha and Ismail Al Mufash, (1830–1876) was an Egyptian statesman who served as the finance minister from 1868 to 1876. He was one of the prominent members of the dhawāt which refers to noble indivi ...

(1830–1876), Egyptian politician *

Ismail Tiliwaldi Ismail Tiliwaldi ( ug, ئىسمائىل تىلىۋالدى, ; born November 1944) is a retired Chinese politician of Uyghur heritage. He was the chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the head of the Xinjiang government, from 2003 to ...

, Chinese politician *

İsmail Türüt İsmail Türüt (born 8 June 1965) is a Turkish folk music artist from the Black Sea Region. "Plan Yapmayın Plan" controversy His 2007 album, Dünya Tatlısı, contains a song named ''Plans, don't make any plans'' ( tr, Plan Yapmayın Plan), w ...

, Turkish singer *

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian person. Th ...

, distinguished leader of the Albanian national movement *

Esmail Zanjani Esmail D. Zanjani is a professor and medical researcher at the University of Nevada, Reno. His research involves growing human cells within sheep embryos. In March 2007, it was announced that Zanjani had created a human-sheep chimera. Zanjani has s ...

, American academic *

Ismail ibn Musa Menk Ismail ibn Musa Menk ( ar, إسماعيل بن موسى منك, translit=ʾismāʿīl ibn mūsā mink) (born 27 June 1975) is a Zimbabwean Islamic scholar, best known as Mufti Menk. He is the Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe's Muslim community, which ma ...

, Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe *

Ismail Abushaikha Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

, Academician at Cranfield University, United Kingdom.

Middle name

Ahmad Ismail Ali Ahmad Ismail Ali ( ar, أحمد إسماعيل علي) (14 October 1917 – 26 December 1974) was the Commander-in-Chief of Egypt's army and minister of war during the October War of 1973, and is best known for his planning of the attack across ...

(1917–1974), Egyptian army officer

Surname or patronymic

* Abu Isma'il ibn Harun, was the son of Abbasid caliph

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

Ahmed Abu Ismail Ahmed Abu Ismail (1915–2013) was an Egyptian economist and politician who served as minister of finance in the 1970s. Early life and education Ismail was born in Samannud in March 1915. He hailed from a wealthy middle-class family. He attended ...

(1915–2013), Egyptian economist and politician *

Abdul Fattah Ismail Abd al-Fattah Ismail Ali Al-Jawfi ( ar, عبد الفتاح إسماعيل علي الجوفي , translit=ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ Ismāʿīl; 28 July 1939 – 13 January 1986) was the Marxist ''de facto'' leader of People's Democratic Republic of Yem ...

(1934-1986), Yemeni politician *

Atik Ismail Atik Ismail (born 5 January 1957) is a Finnish former footballer. He played 26 matches in the Finland national football team scoring 7 goals. Ismail was the top scorer of Finnish premier division Mestaruussarja in 1978, 1979 and 1982. In 1978, h ...

(born 1957), Finnish footballer *

Dhurgham Ismail Dhurgham Ismail Dawoud Al-Quraishi ( ar, ضرغام إسماعيل داوود القريشي; born 23 May 1994), known as Dhurgham Ismail, is an Iraqi professional footballer who plays as a left back or left winger for Iraqi Premier League club ...

, Iraqi football player * Gulalai Ismail, Pashtun women's rights activist *

Hamid Ismail Hamid Ismail Hassan Khalifa Hamid 1 is a Qatari footballer of Sudanese descent who can play at right back and on the right wing. He currently plays for Al-Arabi of the Qatar Stars League and the Qatar national football team. Club career Ismail ...

, Qatari footballer * Hesham Ismail, American football player *

Mohammed Ismail Muhammad Ismail Agha is an Afghan national who was among some 15-21 juveniles held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps. He is believed to be 13 or 14 years old when arrested by Afghan soldiers. Detained without charge, he was released on Januar ...

, Afghan Guantanamo Bay detainee *

Mourad Ismail Mourad E. H. Ismail (born April 27, 1944, in Cairo, Egypt) is a mathematician working on orthogonal polynomials and special functions. Ismail received his bachelor's degree from Cairo University. He holds Masters and doctorate degrees from the U ...

, Egyptian Mathematician *

Mustafa Ismail Mustafa Ismail (June 17, 1905 - December 26, 1978) was an Egyptian Qari, Quran reciter. Early life Ismail was born in a village called Mit Gazal, near Tanta in Egypt on 17 June 1905 and his parents named him Mustafa Muhammad Mursi Ismail.Ori ...

, Egyptian Qur'an reciter *

Mustafa Osman Ismail Mustafa Osman Ismail (born 1955 in Dongola, Sudan) is the head of the National Congress (Sudan), National Congress Party, the ruling party in Sudan. Ismail was the Foreign Minister of Sudan from 18 February 1998 to 18 September 2005. His main jo ...

, Sudanese politician *

Nabawi Ismail Nabawi İsmail (1925 – 15 June 2009) was one of the interior ministers of Egypt who was in office when Anwar Sadat was assassinated. Therefore, he is the last interior minister of Sadat. Early life and education Ismail was born in Al Darb ...

, Egyptian politician * Ibrahim Artan Ismail Somali politician, former Minister of Security of Puntland *

Qadry Ismail Qadry Rahmadan Ismail (born November 8, 1970), nicknamed "the Missile", is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round (52nd overall) of the 1993 NFL draft. He played college football at S ...

, an NCAA and NFL football player * Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, an NCAA and NFL football player *

Rami Ismail Rami Ismail (born 30 October 1988) is a Dutch independent video game developer and spokesperson within the video game industry on the topics of diversity and reaching out to game developers from developing countries. He co-founded the studio Vlam ...

, Dutch Game Developer * Salma Ismail (1918–2014), Malaysian doctor * Sam Esmail, Egyptian-American screenwriter * Sariamin Ismail, Indonesian novelist *

Shabnim Ismail Shabnim Ismail (born 5 October 1988) is a South African cricketer who made her debut for the national women's team in January 2007. A right-arm fast bowler, Ismail is South Africa's all-time leading wicket-taker in both the One Day Internatio ...

(born 1988), South African cricketer *

Shaker Ismail Shaker Ismail ( ar, شاكر إسماعيل, born 1927) is an Iraqi former international football player, who was one of the first players to play in first Iraq national football team. He also played for Al-Minaa. International career Ismail ...

, Iraqi football player *

Sherif Ismail Sherif Ismail ( ar, شريف إسماعيل ; born 6 July 1955) is an Egyptian engineer who served as prime minister between 2015 and 2018. He was minister of petroleum and mineral resources from 2013 to 2015. Career Ismail studied mechan ...

, Egyptian politician * Sulaiman Ismail, an

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

player *

Taufiq Ismail Taufiq Ismail (born 25 June 1935) is an Indonesian poet, activist and the editor of the monthly literary magazine ''Horison''. Ismail figured prominently in Indonesian literature of the post-Sukarno period and is considered one of the pioneers of ...

, Indonesian poet and activist *

Usmar Ismail Usmar Ismail (20 March 1921 – 2 January 1971) was an Indonesian film director, author, journalist and revolutionary of Minangkabau descent. He was widely regarded as the native Indonesian pioneer of the cinema of Indonesia. Biography ...

, director and pioneer of Indonesian film

Etymology and meaning

Given name

Middle name

Surname or patronymic

See also